After Cedric Lee, the camp of model Deniece Cornejo will present another witness in the second bail hearing of detained TV host and comedian Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro scheduled on Monday, Oct. 17.
Navarro, who is charged for allegedly raping Cornejo, filed a petition for bail seeking to be temporarily released from the custody of authorities after the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 69 issued a non-bailable warrant of arrest against him on Sept. 19.
He is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Detention Center in Manila.
The information filed with the Taguig court stated that on Jan. 17, 2014, Navarro “through force, threat and intimidation, and by purposely intoxicating the victim, did willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with one Deniece Millinete Cornejo.”
Last Oct. 13, the first bail hearing of Navarro was held by the Taguig RTC Branch 69. Lee made a surprise appearance at the hearing as the Cornejo camp’s first witness.
“We finished with our first witness today. Si Cedric. The next hearing will be on the 17th on Monday. We will present another witness by then,” said Howard Calleja, Cornejo’s lead counsel, on Oct. 13, but declined to give details of Lee’s testimony.
He said that for the bail hearing, the prosecution is allowed to present up to five witnesses until Nov. 10.
Under The Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, “All persons in custody shall be admitted to bail as a matter of right . . . before conviction by the Regional Trial Court of an offense not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment.”
Republic Act 8353, or The Anti-Rape Law of 1997,” states that rape by sexual intercourse like in Navarro’s case is “punished by reclusion perpetua.”
Section 7 provides that “no person charged with a capital offense, or an offense punishable by reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment, shall be admitted to bail when evidence of guilt is strong, regardless of the stage of the criminal prosecution.”
The revised rules also state that the burden of proof in bail application is with the prosecution or Cornejo’s camp.
“At the hearing of an application for bail filed by a person who is in custody for the commission of an offense punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment, the prosecution has the burden of showing that evidence of guilt is strong,” according to Rule 114.
Navarro attended the first bail hearing through videoconferencing, which was allowed by the court.
On the other hand, Navarro is also facing a case of acts of lasciviousness filed by Cornejo, which allegedly happened on Jan. 22, 2014.
The Taguig Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 116 has yet to schedule Navarro’s arraignment for the case.
Navarro was charged for rape and acts of lasciviousness after the Court of Appeals (CA) sided with Cornejo’s petition for review in a decision promulgated last July 21. The CA ordered the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office to file the two cases against Navarro, saying a court should decide who is telling the truth between Navarro and Cornejo.
The CA ordered the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office “to file Informations against Ferdinand ‘Vhong’ H. Navarro for: (1) Rape by Sexual Intercourse under Article 266-A (1) of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 8353; and (2) Acts of Lasciviousness under Article 336 of the Revised Penal Code.”